CITIZENS COMPASS–Kwara State Ministry of the Environment and Forestry said it has arrested a Police Inspector and waste collector for allegedly operating an illegal dumping site along General Tunde Idiagbon International Airport road, Ilorin in Ilorin West local government area of the State.
The site, according to the Ministry, was discovered last Thursday.
It disclosed this in a statement signed by its press secretary, Yakub Aliagan, on Friday.
The statement said some waste collectors and other residents have been violating environmental laws by dumping their refuse there.
It reads,“The Ministry also apprehended one Inspector Adamu Usman, a Police officer attached to the Airport, who was allegedly aiding and abetting the illegal activity, and handed him to the State Police Command, headquarters, Ilorin.
“State Commissioner for Environment, Hon. Nafisat Buge, who led the enforcement team to the area, said they discovered the site after putting the waste collectors on surveillance.
“As you can see, we just discovered this illegal dump site that was created by some unidentified people. For instance, we found out that the majority of commercial waste collectors dump their refuse here.
“We have always warned them against mismanaging their waste, and we let them know the penalty involved if any of them are caught,” she told reporters on Thursday evening.”
“Fortunately, yesterday, we caught one of them. We traced him from the airport road down to this place at about 11 pm. That was how we discovered this massive illegal dump site.
“This place is very dangerous. You can see the dump site is located beside the airport and the Aviation College. A plane just took off now. This place does not meet up with the criteria for a dump site. We have an approved dump site around Oko Olowo Expressway, Sokoto Aiyekale precisely. But this place is dangerous for the airport and even the dwellers. The government has revoked the license of the erring waste collector, adding he will also be made to pay a fine of N250,000.”
“Out of these 124, eight have been jailed. The offenses are majorly for indiscriminate dumping of refuse and illegal scavenging,” she said.
“We are not relenting as the enforcement of environmental standards is still ongoing and will continue until people stop dumping refuse Indiscriminately. This is necessary because of the danger inherent in the bad habit.”
“There has been a significant improvement in the way people now manage their waste since the Ministry started the enforcement exercise”, she said.
“We have been able to achieve about 70 percent compliance within the few days we started. Majority of the streets where you always see debris on the road median and the other sides are no longer littered.”
